I'm a third grade teacher. No business acumen. I can tell you this: There is tons of STEM value in model trains. We always say as a collective hobby: "We have to turn these kiddos on to the hobby or it will DIE!" But the excuse is always, "All today's child wants to do is on the screen of a device." That's crap. I have so many kids that absolutely cannot learn or focus if the activity is not tactile in nature. Build me a store with a bunch of cool Science, Tech, Engineering, and Mathematics stuff. Leave a Build Zone where parents can accompany their children to explore some STEM activities. The attitude among some hobbyists is, they're too far gone, why even try?" Nah. The Hi-Rail portion of our hobby intimidates some kids and parents. Just spark these kids' imagination with some late 80's MPC stuff on display that can be handled. Communicate the educational value involved in basic, low voltage electronics. Host 15 minute workshops with children and families in mind. This would be a helluva store. You can cross your fingers that enough individual hobbyists will cram into a niche. Or, you can invite entire families into a hobby-centric environment. With the latter, you will eventually see return on investment.
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